


the scripture says

by carefulren



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Gen, Group chat, and this needs to be explored, bc it's very important, chat fic, i'll probably add to this tbh, i'm just obsessed with the fact that Josh is in a group chat with Buck and Chimney, okay i've never written a text fic before, text fic, the text fic that no one asked for
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-14 16:00:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29669700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carefulren/pseuds/carefulren
Summary: There are days where Josh can hardly tolerate the antics of one Evan Buckley and one Chimney Han, and then there are days where he doesn't want to remember what his life was like before the 118.(aka, the group chat fic no one asked for but is really important bc josh is really important)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 96





	the scripture says

_Evelyn_

**[From: Buckaroo]** hey did u guys know that the most destructive tornado to hit LA was in 1983?

**[From: Chimney]** Buck, it’s 2 am. Please go to sleep.

**[From: Buckaroo]** 9 people died Chim! 9! Don’t u care? U care right Josh?

The groan creeping up Josh’s throat gives way to a low sigh, and he massages one temple, squinting at his phone, his mind flicking back to the news earlier, to the passing work conversations of another state.

**[From: Josh]** Buck, one tornado touched down in Tennessee, and everyone’s fine. You’ll be fine.

**[From: Buckaroo]** i know that but then I got to researching it and now i cant stop

**[From: Chimney]** Buck, we have a shift in 4 hours. Please go to sleep.

**[From: Buckaroo]** hey i’m doing you a favor Chim. when little Evelyn comes along ur never going to get any sleep. consider this as me helping you prepare

**[From: Chimney]** Buck, for the last damn time. We aren’t naming her Evelyn!

Snorting, Josh rolls onto his side, his head cradled against his arm as he thumbs at his phone with one hand.

**[From: Josh]** Evelyn?

**[From: Chimney]** Please don’t…

**[From: Buckaroo]** it’s great right? my name’s Evan, so Chim and Maddie have to name my niece Evelyn

**[From: Chimney]** I’m blocking your number.

**[From: Buckaroo]** u wouldnt. back me up here Josh

**[From: Josh]** You’re too pretty to block, Buck. But I am muting both of you now.

**[From: Buckaroo]** wait wait wait are you going to do not disturb me???

Josh messes around in his settings, screenshotting the screen that highlights his ‘Do Not Disturb’ options.

**[From: Josh]** _image attached_

**[From: Buckaroo]** JOSH U WOULDNT

***

_Bruises_

**[From: Buckaroo]** Josh who would win in a fight? me or Eddie?

**[From: Josh]** Eddie

**[From: Buckaroo]** JOSH

**[From: Chimney]** 😂 😂 Wait, sorry, I cannot stop laughing! Josh, you didn’t even hesitate!

Josh rolls his eyes, sips lightly at his coffee. He leans back in his chair, smiling.

**[From: Josh]** It’s not exactly a question that requires much thought.

**[From: Buckaroo]** again, i repeat, JOSH.

**[From: Buckaroo]** okay but hear me out okay i have a good few inches over Eddie. i basically tower over him at this point. plus he’s like super old compared to me. brittle bones and shit

Josh waits for the three-dot symbol, knowing there’s more to come, but, to his muted surprise, the chat goes quiet. He slides to his feet with a sigh and pauses to down his remaining coffee, yearning for the caffeine thanks to too-early chat shenanigans that woke him only hours before his shift.

It’s not until he’s moving back onto the floor, starting toward his seat to work with a trainee, that his phone vibrates in his pocket. He slips it out as he slides into his seat.

**[From: Chimney]** _image attached_

Josh frowns lightly. The image has Buck on a couch in front of a large TV, with Eddie seated beside him. Eddie’s got an ice pack pressed to Buck’s arm, and Bobby’s standing before them, arms crossed, frown prominent even through the phone photo.

**[From: Josh]** Do I want to know?

**[From: Chimney]** Short story. Eddie saw the text and ‘jokingly’ punched Buck in the arm. Hard. Bobby’s pissed.

**[From: Josh]** Typical day at the 118, right?

**[From: Chimney]** You have no idea.

***

_Nightmares_

**[From: Josh]** Hey, Buck. Are you awake?

Josh really wishes he was asleep right now, far gone in a blissful dream that faintly blurs reality into watercolors, yet, every time he closes his eyes, he can hear the echoing screams of the last call he took, of the young woman being stabbed to death. When he nods off, the screams grow louder; they reach out and pull him onto the scene, and he can only watch, voice stolen in a tangled breath, as this woman’s murdered on repeat.

After his second attempt of sleep ends in a choked gasp and a jackhammer of a heart, he opts to forgo sleep for now, ignoring the 3:12 am time, searching for some semblance of familiar comfort.

**[From: Buckaroo]** yeah man. what’s up? u okay?

Josh’s lungs are tight in chest, stuck against a wall of building pressure.

**[From: Josh]** I… It’s stupid. Don’t worry about it. Sorry for waking you.

Josh is about to lock his phone, to work through his own struggles alone as he usually does, but then Buck replies, more than once, rapid texts brightening Josh’s phone.

**[From: Buckaroo]** hey dont shut me out

**[From: Buckaroo]** whatever it is u can talk to me

**[From: Buckaroo]** i’m sure its not stupid at all and believe me i know stupid

The sigh Josh lets out is weak, a little shaky, and his fingers tremble as he types.

**[From: Josh]** I’m just having some trouble shutting out a horrible call. A woman called. She had been stabbed, and while I was on the phone with her, the assailant came back and stabbed her until she died.

**[From: Josh]** I know there’s not much I could have done, but… I’m just having trouble separating myself it, and the nightmares aren’t helping anything.

Buck types for a while, and the entire time, Josh gnaws faintly at this thumb nail, eyes glued to his phone, the light making everything else seem darker around him.

**[From: Buckaroo]** i get it. i was a wreck when i lost my first person on a call. and i wish i could say it gets easier but… you’ve been in this field longer than i have so u know. i had nightmares then, and i still have nightmares now bc of the firetruck crushing me, the tsunami, hell sometimes i get nightmares from shit that happened to me when i was a kid. our brains process trauma in scary ways but nightmares are totally normal and they are in no way a reflection of weakness.

**[From: Buckaroo]** i know its hard to remove urself from a bad call but i find what helps me is to mentally work thru all of the people i was able to help whenever my mind is stuck around the one i couldnt help

The tension taut across Josh’s face gives way to a small, warm smile, and his lungs finally cooperate with his breath, drinking in large, steady gulps of air that loosen the pressure, that slow the rapid, pattering thump of his heart.

**[From: Josh]** Wow, Buck. Thank you. I… I really needed that.

**[From: Buckaroo]** anytime man. our jobs arent easy and we’ve gotta have each others backs

When Josh falls asleep, his dreams are bright, calm, the screams now just a sour memory not strong enough to cloud whatever happy reality his REM cycle’s crafting, and when he wakes, feeling mutely at ease and thankful he’s snuck his way into the 118, he checks his phone, breathing out light laugh.

**[From: Chimney]** Damn, Buck. How come you’re never this nice to me?

**[From: Buckaroo]** u lost that privilege when u and my sister betrayed me and wont name my niece Evelyn

**Author's Note:**

> I'm going to go ahead and leave this on multi-chapter for now. I do plan on adding to it, and I'll happily accept group chat ideas on my tumblr :) (@toosicktoocare)


End file.
